Objectivism

Just in time for OCON 2011, the Ayn Rand Bookstore has made Adam’s 2010 OCON general lecture available for purchase for just $21.95! From ARB’s web site:

Intellectual Property Rights: Securing Values of the Mind

By Adam Mossoff

The extraordinary achievements in the pharmaceutical, biotech, telecommunications and computer industries in recent years are dramatic evidence of the significance of intellectual property rights to human life and success. Yet patents, copyrights and other intellectual property rights are under attack today by both collectivists and libertarians, who condemn these property rights as unjustified monopolies.

In this talk, Professor Mossoff explains Ayn Rand’s radical justification for intellectual property rights—that all property is at root intellectual property. In recognizing that intellectual property rights represent “the legal implementation of the base of all property rights: a man’s right to the product of his own mind,” Rand grounds intellectual property rights in her novel concept of value and in her discovery that man’s mind is his basic means of survival. In using a combination of philosophical and historical analysis, Professor Mossoff further develops Rand’s unique justification for intellectual property rights, demonstrating that all property—whether real estate, personal property or intellectual property—arises from the values that man must first conceive and then act to produce. Ultimately, to understand why intellectual property rights are property rights par excellence is to recognize the radical political and legal implications of Rand’s innovative ethical theory.

And here’s the description of the optional course he will present this year, which I’ve taken straight from the OCON web site:

Topics in Intellectual Property: The Computer and Biotech Revolutions
Adam MossoffThis course discusses how the intellectual property (IP) laws have promoted and secured the incredible innovation in the past 50 years in the areas of computer technology and biotech. No knowledge of science, technology or IP law is necessary, as the purpose of this course is to inform attendees about these subjects so that they can better understand these modern achievements within the context of their existing Objectivist knowledge about the concept of value, the virtue of productivity, the right to property, and the theory and practice of capitalism. After a general introduction to IP law in the beginning of the course, we examine the historical development of computer technology and biotech and explain how the IP laws secured the life-enhancing values produced by inventive geniuses in these fields. Ultimately, this course provides important intellectual ammunition for Objectivists in both understanding IP rights and how they function with respect to the “hot topics” of computer technology and biotech.

I am pleased to present the March 10, 2011 edition of the Objectivist Round Up.

To get us started, here is one my favorite quotes from Ayn Rand:

It is not in the nature of man—nor of any living entity—to start out by giving up, by spitting in one’s own face and damning existence; that requires a process of corruption, whose rapidity differs from man to man. Some give up at the first touch of pressure; some sell out; some run down by imperceptible degrees and lose their fire, never knowing when or how they lost it. Then all of these vanish in the vast swamp of their elders who tell them persistently that maturity consists of abandoning one’s mind; security, of abandoning one’s values; practicality, of losing self-esteem. Yet a few hold on and move on, knowing that that fire is not to be betrayed, learning how to give it shape, purpose and reality. But whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man’s nature and of life’s potential.

–”Introduction to The Fountainhead,” The Objectivist, March, 1968

One way to Hold Your Fire is to immerse yourself in the world of ideas.  And on that note, let’s move on to the round up!

Edward Cline presents Somali Piracy: Another Islamic War Front posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “On February 22nd, four Americans were executed by Somali pirates as a U.S. warship bore down on the yacht they had hijacked. The U.S. government and the military are not saying much about why the pirates killed the Americans, but it just might have something to do with the fact that the two retired couples were on a private missionary voyage around the world to distribute Bibles. But I suspect that if the pirates had instead found cartons of Playboy Magazine on the yacht, the Americans would have suffered the same fate. It would demonstrate the grip Islam has even on criminal Muslims.”

Gene Palmisano presents Labor Extortion in a Socialist Democracy posted at The Metaphysical Lunch, saying, “Discard the altruistic hyperbole and the socialist labor rhetoric, then cut to the chase.”

Kate Yoak presents Naps are required by law! posted at Parenting is…, saying, “I am dismayed at another instance of the government’s reach into the private educational system.”

Valery Publius presents Campus Media Response: Wisconsin Protestors: Fighting for the Privilege to Count Themselves as the “Public” posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, “When do ‘collective rights’ begin to usurp the rights of individuals?”

Alex Hrin presents Campus Media Response: Solar Energy: A Path to Prosperity? posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, “Would ‘green’ energy truly need such massive government subsidies if it could stand on its own as a viable energy source?”

Michael Labeit presents The Enviable Brilliance of the Swiss posted at Michael Labeit at EconomicPolicyJournal.com.

Rational Jenn presents Seven Things I Refuse to Feel Guilty About As a Parent posted at Rational Jenn, saying, “Here’s to not accepting unearned guilt and feeling good about parenting decisions!”

Jared Rhoads presents Health Wonk Review: 3rd time hosting posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, “Last week, we hosted the Health Wonk Review, which is a bi-weekly compendium of healthcare-related articles and entries from around the blogosphere. See what was submitted.”

Rachel Miner presents Warm, zesty, yum! posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, “A fun activity that I shared with my mom… making homemade, crystalized ginger!”

The Undercurrent Editors present Introducing This Issue posted at The Undercurrent, saying, “The February edition of The Undercurrent is out now! Check it out today.”

Edward Cline presents Mosques vs. Churches vs. Freedom posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “The literature that recounts the evils of the political/theological ideology of Islam is vast, growing, and informative. Unfortunately much of it is wrongly premised and written by individuals of a religious bent who have yet to check their premises. They really have no reason to cast the first stone at Islam, when the stones thrown at them share a striking similarity to the stones they hurl back.”

Kelly Elmore presents Things I Won’t Feel Guilty About posted at Reepicheep’s Coracle, saying, “I love this meme! Objectivist parents should be making selfish decisions about their parenting and not feeling guilty about those decisions. But in our culture of parental sacrifice and maternal guilt, especially, that can be hard. Here’s the list of things I will not feel guilty about.”

Ari Armstrong presents Guarantee to Unions the Same Rights the Rest of Us Have posted at Free Colorado, saying, “People have the right to associate freely, but no right to force their conditions on others.”

Joshua John M. Lipana presents Capitalism Magazine – Senator Rand Paul’s Morality and the Welfare State posted at Capitalism Magazine, saying, “Sen. Paul is championing economic freedom while at the same time championing the morality that prevents it from existing.”

Scott Connery presents Have You Abandoned Faith but Kept Christian Morality? posted at Rational Public Radio, saying, “Many atheists abandon their faith, but don’t follow that decision through to it’s logical conclusion. Many of them hold onto the morality of Altruism after the faith that it depended on is removed.”

David C Lewis, RFA presents Induction In Life Insurance posted at A Revolution In Financial Planning, saying, “What is your date of death? Nobody knows, but life insurance companies can still predict your death–expressed as a probability–with amazing accuracy. I discuss how life insurance companies predict mortality and what I think the industry must have done to attain their amazing accuracy of predicting death rates.”

Paul Hsieh presents Socialized Medicine in Theory and Practice posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, “My latest OpEd appeared in Liberty Ink Journal, on the difference between the theory vs. practice of socialized medicine.”

Diana Hsieh presents SnowCon 2011: The Webcast! posted at NoodleFood, saying, “Most of the lectures and workshops of this weekend’s Objectivist conference in Denver — SnowCon — will be broadcast live! Come join us … virtually!”

Julia Campbell presents cajun stew posted at the crankin’ kitchen!, saying, “A super yummy cajun stew in honor of Mardi Gras!”

Jared Rhoads presents Twead #8: Revolt! posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, “Here we share notes and quotes from Dick Morris’s new book, Revolt! Yes, this is the one that recently caused a stir on Peter Schiff’s radio show.”

Roderick Fitts presents Reduction of “the Initiation of Physical Force is Evil” posted at Inductive Quest, saying, “My reduction of the Objectivist principle that ‘the initiation of physical force is evil.’ Bullies and dictators beware!”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Objectivist Round Up using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Happy New Year, and welcome to the January 6, 2011 edition of the Objectivist Round Up!  We have nineteen posts for you today in this first edition of 2011.  At least two are from new contributors, which is a wonderful thing.

To warm yourself up, consider this quote from Ayn Rand, reprinted here simply because I like it:

Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage’s whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.

–Ayn Rand, The Soul of an Individualist, For the New Intellectual, 84.

And now, on with the Round Up:

Roderick Fitts presents Reduction of Objectivity (Aristotle) posted at Inductive Quest, saying, “A post reducing how Aristotle would have reached his idea objectivity, of a method designed to reach knowledge by adhering to reality. Enjoy!”

Roderick Fitts presents Induction of Objectivity (Aristotle) posted at Inductive Quest, saying, “A presentation of how Aristotle might have induce his system of logic, and view of objectivity. I learn to appreciate Aristotle a lot after working this induction, and I hope you do too!”

Kate Yoak presents Speaking freely posted at Parenting is…, saying, “Lessons I learned from other objectivist on the value of speaking my views – and teaching my kids to do the same.”

Hanah presents The Little Engine That Could posted at Charlie’s Bookshelf, saying, “I’m excited to join the carnival with my brand-new blog on the very specialized topic of children’s book reviews from an Objectivist perspective.”

Rachel Miner presents Finding Objectivism posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, “From a program designed to train me as a young, Jewish leader to the streets of Jerusalem to Poland’s concentration camps… I decided to finally write the story of how I found Objectivism.”

Stella presents My silence on Avastin posted at ReasonPharm, saying, “ReasonPharm readers should know why I’ve kept silent on an important issue — because my silence has implications.”

Diana Hsieh presents My Year in Review posted at NoodleFood, saying, “I accomplished more than I realized in 2010, despite a dismal start to the year.”

John Drake presents Emotions and Self-discipline posted at Try Reason!, saying, “A short post about the relationship between emotions and self-discipline.”

Paul Hsieh presents Hsieh PJM OpEd: “Will the GOP Walk the Walk On The Constitution?” posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, “In my latest PJM OpEd, I tell the GOP that it’s not enough to just pay lip service to the Constitution. They must also defending with deeds the principles of individual rights and limited government.”

Rational Jenn presents Mythbusting: Positive Discipline posted at Rational Jenn, saying, “In this post, I tackle a few of the more common objections I’ve heard to Positive Discipline/non-punitive discipline.”

Ari Armstrong presents My Interview with Sam Adams Alliance posted at Free Colorado, saying, “I discuss Ayn Rand, Harry Potter, and free market activism in my recent interview with the Sam Adams Alliance.”

David C Lewis, RFA presents Should Financial Advisers Be Licensed? posted at A Revolution In Financial Planning, saying, “Should licensing be required for financial advisers? Does it help or hurt advisers and clients? In this post, I argue that licensing violates individual rights and does not ensure a better quality of service.”

Thomas Hochmann presents Blank Check for the “Less Fortunate” posted at The Objectivist Voice, saying, “We call racism evil, because it pre-judges an individual based on genetic qualities beyond his control. Yet there is apparently nothing evil with pre-judging people who are born “fortunate” with good health or a good family, or the like.”

Kelly Elmore presents My Accomplishments 2010 posted at Reepicheep’s Coracle, saying, “I like the idea of looking back over the things I accomplished in 2010, so here it is. Plus, I like that Oists don’t mind bragging. I am hoping to write a post about what I am hoping and striving for in 2011 to follow this one.”

Morgan Polotan presents Raw Milk Fans Should Read Ayn Rand posted at Morgan Polotan’s Blog, saying, “This is my first time submitting to the Objectivist Roundup, and I’m excited to make this a consistent weekly habit!”

Jared Rhoads presents Twead #7: Cynthia Koelker posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, “Notes and highlights from Cynthia Koelker’s new book, “101 Ways to Save Money on Health Care.”"

Martin Lindeskog presents 100 VOICES BY SCOTT MCCONNELL posted at EGO, saying, “I have read the first interview (Eleanora Drobysheva) in Scott McConnell’s book, 100 Voices: An Oral History of Ayn Rand.”

Michael Labeit presents Defending “Draft Dodging” posted at Michael Labeit at EconomicPolicyJournal.com.

Jim Woods presents Statism Advocacy Organizations posted at Words by Woods, saying, “When NGOs and civil society organizations advocate intrusive government regulation of individuals’ lives and accept public funding, are they still nongovernmental?”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Objectivist Round Up using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

I missed last week’s Round Up and I’m a whole day late with this week’s, but I’m happy to say that my family is healthy again (except for me – I finally got the cold – but I can deal with that much more easily than the others) and most of the crises are over.  I should be able to keep up with life again starting next week.

So, in case you missed them, here they are:

November 25 – Rational Jenn

December 2 – Reepicheep’s Coracle

Sacred Ego has your Objectivist Round Up this week.

The Playful Spirit is hosting this week’s Round Up.  Head on over now, ya’ hear?

Lynne is hosting this week’s Round Up at her lovely blog, 3 Ring Binder.

Here’s an exciting announcement from Diana Hsieh of NoodleFood:

I’m delighted to announce a new project that I’m helping to organize: the hosting of live online events (i.e. webcasts) with notable intellectuals and producers about their work. Even better, our first webcast will be law professor Adam Mossoff speaking on questions about intellectual property!

Yes, I find it exciting because my husband is the inaugural lecturer, but I also think the project itself is a great idea.  Here’s the proposal for Adam’s webcast:

Ayn Rand was the first to recognize that all property is at root intellectual property. The law and history support Rand’s view that all property rights, whether in land, factories, consumer goods, securities, or inventions and books, are made possible by innovators who first conceived of these new values. Professor Mossoff will give a brief overview of the evidence supporting Rand’s view and answer questions about the theory, history, and law of intellectual property.

Dr. Hsieh is experimenting with the pledge system that she innovated to fund these webcasts.  That means that you make a pledge to pay whatever you think the webcast is worth to you, and if there is enough interest (meaning money), then the project will go forward.  Go to NoodleFood for the details. The webcast is on November 15 and you need to get your pledge in by November 6, so don’t delay!

This week’s Objectivist Round Up has been published and is eagerly awaiting your eyeballs and your mind.  Head over to Reepicheep’s Coracle and give it your full attention.  Come on, you know it deserves it.

ARI is sponsoring a new contest:  the Atlas Shrugged Video Contest!

You have until December 8 to make a 3 minute video on “how Ayn Rand’s epic story relates to current issues in society or in your own life.”

Awesome!  I can’t wait to see the winners.

Burgess Laughlin presents Best approach to disputes in a movement? posted at Making Progress, saying, “Every movement faces disputes among its members. Having a reasoned approach to such internal disputes reduces the stress of continuing to work for one’s activist goals under those conditions. This article asks questions as a first step in a reasoned approach.”

Roberto Sarrionandia presents The Cognitive Function of Art posted at Roberto Sarrionandia, saying, “The important cognitive function that is served by art”

John McVey presents Historical data in the fractional reserve banking debate posted at John J McVey, saying, “This is a response to Publius from Objectivist Answers, plus partially remedies some of the defects of Part Two.”

Roderick Fitts presents Bacon’s Theory of Induction as Presented in the Novum Organum Part 1 of 2 posted at Inductive Quest, saying, “it’s my technical summary of Bacon’s magnum opus, the Novum Organum. This part covers what we need to consider before we can understand his theory of induction. So exciting!”

Roderick Fitts presents Bacon’s Theory of Induction as Presented in his Novum Organum, Part 2 of 2 posted at Inductive Quest, saying, “The final part of my summary of Bacon’s Novum Organum, detailing his theory of forms and his theory of the inductive method. Long live induction!”

Kelly Valenzuela presents The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010: A Disgrace! posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, “Santiago Valenzuela weighs in on proposed immigration legislation.”

Kelly Valenzuela presents How Should the US Reform its Immigration Policy? posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, “Guest blogger, Santiago Valenzuela, proposes solutions to our country’s immigration problems.”

Kelly Valenzuela presents Oh Life – A Super Easy Online Journal Tool posted at Rant from the Rock, saying, “For those of you who forget to journal, this website could be a big help.”

Ari Armstrong presents Colorado Ballot: Free Colorado News posted at Free Colorado, saying, “I interview Mike Krause about CO Am. 63, “Health Care Choice,” and discuss my CO ballot.”

Joshua John M. Lipana presents An Interview with Dr. Paul Hsieh posted at This is Joshua Speaking.

Joshua John M. Lipana presents Free Enterprise Vol. 1 Issue. 2 2010 posted at This is Joshua Speaking, saying, “A philippine-based Pro-Objectivist Pro-Free Market periodical produced by Joshua Lipana”

Rational Jenn presents It’s Johnny’s Birthday. . . posted at Rational Jenn, saying, “This post about my love of The Beatles was written in honor of John Lennon’s 70th birthday.”

Danielle Morrill presents Who’s Actually Getting Read in Objectivism (Online) posted at Danielle Morrill.

Diana Hsieh presents The Resignation of John McCaskey: The Facts posted at NoodleFood, saying, “Paul’s and my survey of the facts surrounding John McCaskey’s resignation from the boards of the Anthem Foundation and the Ayn Rand Institute.”

Kelly Elmore presents What I Have Read, What I’m Reading, and What’s on Deck posted at Reepicheep’s Coracle, saying, “A list of and comments about the books I read in September, books I’m reading right now, and books that I have waiting on my shelf. List is filled with adult and young adult fiction, non-fiction of many varieties, Middle English, and a parenting or homeschooling resource or two. Something for everyone, just like the Sears Catalog.”

Jeff Montgomery presents Buchanan/Pawnee Pass Loop Run posted at Fun With Gravity, saying, “A long post about a long, hard run in the Indian Peaks, with photos.”

Michael Labeit presents Don’t Call Them Progressives posted at Michael Labeit at EconomicPolicyJournal.com.

Rachel Miner presents Birthday Gems posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, “I share some key thoughts on making a birthday party successful. I’m still putting away the new toys, doing laundry, and all the other post party/visitor things, but I wanted to share these thoughts on what made this party the smoothest one for us so far.”

Mike Zemack presents Extremists vs. the Moderates: Why the Left Keeps Winning, and the Right has been Powerless to Stop It posted at Principled Perspectives, saying, “The Republicans need ideological backbone to give meaning to their coming electoral rout of the Democrats.”

Amy Mossoff presents Don’t Be a Plastic Bashing Luddite! posted at The Little Things, saying, “Plastic is a good thing. Why did I let the Luddites infect my thinking for so long? (Warning: this post is a rant, and only a rant.)”

Trey Givens presents A Tutorial for Outlook Users Who Wish to Avoid Annoying Me posted at Trey Givens, saying, “OMG! What is UP with these people who send emails marked “urgent” that contain stupid, mundane, very-not-urgent content!?!? Well, in the spirit of assuming people are more stupid than they are malicious, I created this tutorial.”

Jason Stotts presents On Polysexuality Overview posted at Erosophia, saying, “Is polysexuality (non-monogamy) natural? Can it be moral? Find out in my new series of essays on the subject.”

A. Chambers presents Prohibition Déjà vu posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, “How does drug prohibition affect current violence in the U.S. and Mexico?”

Edward Cline presents Of Federaphobia and Islamophobia posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “Dark propinquity governs the attacks on freedom of speech coming from two principal quarters: The Democrats, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Their ideological hostility to freedom of speech is mutual and certainly proximate.”

That concludes this edition.  Submit your blog article to the next edition of The Objectivist Round Up using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Here I go again.  I have two more links today.  Neither is political, but both are ideological.

First we have The Objectivist Round Up, hosted by Sacred Ego.

Next, I would like to make a brief statement:

The Ayn Rand Institute is of great value to me, and so I’ve donated a little bit extra this month.  I am doing so (and making this public statement) after carefully thinking about an issue that has arisen in the Objectivist “movement,” and specifically, thinking about it in these terms (including my husband’s comments).

Update:  I realize now that I should have clarified that this is not about the McCaskey/Harriman issue.  And as long as I’m at it, it is not about the mosque debate either.